25 September 2014: Pacific Island leaders and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe met on the sidelines of the 69th UN General Assembly (UNGA) to indicate their priorities for the seventh Pacific Islands Leaders’ Meeting (PALM 7), which will take place in Iwaki, Japan, in May 2015.

Abe highlighted previous PALMs’ role in deepening and expanding the partnerships between Japan and Pacific Island countries, and said that, at PALM 7, he aims to establish new partnerships to tackle common challenges. “Pacific Island Countries have established a strong relationship with Japan on a number of areas, including climate change and disaster risk reduction,” he noted.

Tommy E. Remengesau Jr., President of the Republic of Palau, urged Japan to work closely with Pacific countries to enhance efforts on the Majuro Declaration for Climate Leadership, the Palau Declaration on Oceans and the Samoa Pathway. He also called for Japan’s support in ensuring that the interests of small island developing States (SIDS) are not lost in upcoming negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Henry Puna, Prime Minister of Cook Islands, emphasized the importance of the PALM process and the need for a comprehensive PALM 7 meeting agenda.

The Pacific Islands Leaders’ Meeting with Japan is a summit-level meeting held every three years since 1997. Leaders discuss issues facing Pacific island countries in order to build cooperative relationships between Japan and Pacific island countries. In 2012, at PALM 6, they agreed on the need for a comprehensive response to climate change adaptation in the Pacific, and on the importance of promoting sustainable development based on human security through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). [Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Press Release] [Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Press Release]